Telephone Kiosk at, Northern Bank, Waring Street, Belfast

A freestanding cast-iron K6 type telephone kiosk, erected post-1955 and based on designs by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. The kiosk is located at the west side of the former Northern Bank on Waring Street and North Street in Belfast.

This is a later K6 model, identified by the St Edward's Crown cipher on the fascia. Earlier K6 models bear the Tudor Crown cipher used before 1953. The kiosk is manufactured entirely in cast-iron with small-paned sides and door, glazed with Perspex, and features a shallow domed roof. It stands approximately 8 feet 3 inches (251 centimetres) high and 3 feet 5 inches (91 centimetres) wide. The kiosk retains much of its original fabric and remains in use.

The design traces back to a 1920s competition organised by the Metropolitan Boroughs Joint Standing Committee and the Royal Fine Art Commission to standardise telephone kiosk design across Britain. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott's entry was selected as the winning design. The K6 kiosk, specifically commissioned in 1935 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of King George V, was designed by Scott as an improved version of his earlier K2 design. The K6 is smaller than the K2 with simpler detailing: the pierced crown on the dome was replaced with a moulded dome, ventilation slots were inserted below the "Telephone" inscription, glazing bar arrangements were altered to narrower outer panes and a wider inner pane, and the moulding at the bottom of the door was omitted. These changes made the kiosk cheaper to produce, lighter to transport, and requiring a smaller footprint, enabling widespread deployment across the country. Scott's K6 appeared in 1936, with a more vandal-proof Mark II version following in 1939. By 1960, approximately 60,000 examples existed.

In 1953, Queen Elizabeth II adopted the St Edward's Crown as the symbol of her government in place of the Tudor Crown. This new crown began appearing on K6 kiosk fascias from that date. From 1955 onwards, the Crown of Scotland was used for kiosks in Scotland, with a slot in the fascia allowing either version to be inserted into all kiosks manufactured from this date. The slotted crown in this example indicates a post-1955 date of manufacture.

The telephone kiosk does not appear on the First, Second, or Third Edition Ordnance Survey maps and was probably installed around 1952, as indicated by the St Edward's Crown on the fascia. It is situated on the footpath between the Cathedral Conservation Area and the Belfast City Centre Conservation Area but is not actually located within either conservation area. This K6 type has become increasingly rare as modern telephone facilities have replaced traditional kiosks and telephone usage patterns have changed.